Would you be
able to imagine it? A world where cancer was something of the past, something
that no longer exists. This is the mindset that many people around the world
would love to have and share, that ability to say “Cancer has been eradicated in
the world”. The truth is, something like that would be possible, but the amount
of radical change that would have to take place would be monumental, in
comparison to some of the work that is listed in Siddhartha Mukherjee’s novel “The
Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer”
Let’s take a
step back and think of some of the major factors that can lead to cancer. These
include the regular motion of aging, the use of tobacco products, experiencing
too much sunlight onto the body, having exposure to various chemicals, alcohol,
family history, the list goes on and on (Cunha 2014). Now taking these factors
listed into consideration, think about how each one of these can be feasibly
solved. Making the manufacturing and distribution of tobacco products illegal
would eliminate the risk factor of tobacco usage. Requiring the application of
sunscreen products when outside would eliminate the factor of harmful UV
exposure. Blocking access to dangerous chemicals unless one has clearance to
handle these chemicals would near end that risk factor. Limiting the amount of
alcohol that one can consume and creating methods of addiction treatment for
alcohol can lower the alcohol risk factor, which would also tie in with
tobacco, as addictions for tobacco are just as common, and the methods of
treatment are just as effective.
The point of
this drastic regulation that I have proposed is that the cure for cancer, or
more correctly, the elimination of cancer from a society, is indeed possible. But
with this comes the fight over what is ethical and what is not. Whether eliminating
a devastating and fatal condition is more or less important than the basic
freedoms that are also guaranteed in our country. Although it is clear our
country will defend the rights and freedoms that are in place over the
elimination of cancer and other diseases that can be cured through strict and
radical regulation change, one idea is still clear. Finding a cure for many of
the diseases and conditions that affect society, including cancer, will not be
easy. Finding and setting in place a solution
to the problem though, is very much possible.
References:
Cunha, J. P. “Cancer Risk Factors”
MedicineNet.com. MedicineNet, 15 Apr.
2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The
Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. New York: Scribner, 2010.
Print.
It's interesting to think about the elimination of cancer versus the cure of cancer. Although progress is being made towards the cure, how feasible is the total cure of every type of cancer in every patient? Of course the elimination of the disease does seem far fetched, initiative could betaken to start pushing humans in that direction. Stopping tobacco use, chemical exposure and lack of sunscreen use in all seems like a small sacrifice in the name of stopping cancer.
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing blog post! When you stop and think about the devastating effects of cancer versus simple daily choices that you can make to prevent them, it seems like a simple fix to the problem. I have a friend whose dad passed away from skin cancer, and now she never leaves the house without putting on sunscreen. Her way of honoring her dad is taking all the steps she can to prevent getting cancer herself. While I don't think we'll get anywhere near eradicating cancer in the near future, it is an incredible goal to strive for. We can all make simple choices to decrease our risk and increase the number of cancer-free people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post in regards to prevention possibly being the ultimate cure for cancer. But at the same time, there are many cancers that we know next to nothing about, and have no idea what causes them. Cancer could be eradicated to a certain extent, but only for those cancers that we know the exact causes of. And even with those cancers, you would have to take away basic freedoms of people in order to stop them from participating in the harmful activities.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very interesting. Preventing cancer is as important as curing cancer. I agree that eliminating tobacco use, exposure to chemicals, and wearing sunscreen can help lower a person's risk of getting cancer. However, as Josiah stated, we only know causes for some cancers. Even then, some people may be genetically inclined to get certain cancers, such as breast cancer. While reducing the amount of exposure to carcinogens may help reduce the occurrence of cancer, it may still be possible for cancer to occur despite these restrictions.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting approach to eliminating cancer as a risk to humans. Individual action alone, however, will not allow this idea to become anywhere close to reality. Many of the carcinogens we are exposed to in everyday life are a result of corporate activity, including the use of potentially toxic chemicals in water bottles, fertilizer, and many other objects that we can come into contact with everyday. Change must come on a much larger scale for carcinogen exposure to become a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteOne of our founding father's, Patrick Henry, stated "Give me liberty or give death." Every individual should be given access to the knowledge to make their own choices. Prevention and screening should be used to limit one's risk of cancer. No government or insurance company should be impose restrictions. Armed with knowledge, over time the public will make the right choice as shown by the decrease of cigarette smoking. In regards to cancer, it may truly be a choice of liberty or death.
ReplyDelete